Feminism for Dummies

By Anastacia Sibikina&Matvei Galperin

● What are you, feminism?

Feminism is a broad term to refer to a perspective and a movement opposing

patriarchy and advocating for women's rights. There are various types,
including Liberal, Radical, Marxist, and Black feminism, each with unique
approaches and sometimes even critiques towards one another.

● When did it all start?

* First wave of feminism - ideas that appeared in the 18th and the 19th century
that challenged male domination of the family and eventually led to women
being allowed to vote. Specifically, it began in 1792 with Marry Wollstonecraft’s
book A Vindication of the Rights of Women, which argued that females should
have the same right to education as males.

* Second wave of feminism - Liberal, Radical and Marxist feminist ideas often
collectively known as the 'women's liberation movement'. Second-wave
feminism began in the 1960s.

* Third-wave feminism - refers to two unrelated forms of feminism that

appeared about the same time (1980s/1990s) - intersectional feminism and
post-feminism.

* Fourth-wave feminism started in around 2010-2012. It is a type of feminism,

particularly the digital feminism practiced by millennials.

● Feminism and Sociology

Feminists criticize sociology for its focus on patriarchy and its perceived
'natural' appearing. Before the 1970s, most sociologists were men, and
patriarchy was not considered a concept at all. This has led to contemporary
feminist researchers dismissing family sociology as a product of ‘malestream’
thinking, resulting in a masculine bias. Pamela Abbott, Claire Wallace and
Melissa Tyler (2005) argue that malestream sociology has often overlooked
women's issues, particularly oppression and inequality related to marriage and
family life. Feminist research like: Hannah Gavron's The Captive Wife: Conflict of
Housebound Mothers (1966), Ann Oakley's The Sociology of Housework (1974)
and Hart's When Marriage Ends (1976), reveals this gap.

● Patriarchy and the Origin of it

Patriarchy means male domination of society and the social institutions that
comprise it. Firestone (1970) and Laura Purdy (1997) argue that it is based on a
sexual class system and deeply rooted in biology, with women at a
disadvantage due to pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and menstruation.
These biological factors have led to women's dependence on men, enabling
them to monopolize power and leadership positions. Millett (1970) also
acknowledges that biology plays a role in establishing patriarchal power, as
men can use their size and body strength to threaten physical and sexual
violence against those women who fail to conform to patriarchal expectations
by challenging male power.

● Liberal feminism

Liberal feminism - a collection of feminist sociologists who highlighted gender

inequality in areas such as education and put pressure on governments to
challenge it by introducing equal rights and opportunities legislation and social
policies.

● Radical feminism

Radical feminism - a group of feminists who attempted to explain gender

inequality by constructing structural theories that saw patriarchy as a complex
inter-dependent social system. The theory was often seen as men-hating
because it is hyper-critical of what it saw as male exploitation and oppression
of women.

● Marxist or Socialist feminism

Socialist/Marxist feminism - a type of feminism that argued that gender

inequality was linked to class inequality. Both were seen to be the product of
capitalism - for example, capitalist employers profit from women's unpaid
domestic labor.

● Remember these terms (or at least try to remember)

* Misogyny - dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women.

* Toxic masculinity - a type of masculinity which exhibits negative traits such as
violence, sexual aggression and an inability or reluctance to express emotions
because of a belief that is weak to do so.
* ‘Manipulation’ - a component of gender role socialization in which parents
encourage behavior which is culturally acceptable for boys or girls but
discourage behavior that might not be interpreted as not fitting cultural norms.
* ‘Canalisation’ - a component of gender role socialization where parents lead
or channel their children's interests and activities to gender-appropriate areas.
For example, toys are often classified as suitable for either boys or girls.
* Institutional sexism - Ideas and practices that may be consciously or
unconsciously embedded in the regulations and actions of an organization such
as a school or police force.
* Reproductive rights - the right of females to control their own bodies; for
example, the right of women to decide whether they want to have children or
be child-free, when to have children and how many children to have.
* Genderquake - a radical change in attitudes compared with previous
generations, so radical that it symbolizes a seismic (earthquake-type) upheaval.
* Matriarchal - a society or community dominated by women the opposite to
patriarchal.
* Matrifocal - a society or culture based on the mother as the head of the
family or household.
* Cultural hegemony - domination or rule maintained through ideological or
cultural means.
* Private patriarchy - a type of male domination found exclusively in the home,
family and in personal relationships.
* Public patriarchy - institutionalized forms of sexual prejudice and
discrimination found across a range of social institutions, including government,
education and the law.
* Glass ceiling - the unseen, yet unbreachable, barrier that keeps women from
rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their
qualifications or achievements.
* Intersectional feminism - a critique of liberal and radical feminism which
implied that the experience of patriarchy was the same for all women. Black
and Asian feminists, and Marxist feminists pointed out that gender often
interacts or intersects with social class, race and patriarchy to produce unique
experiences of patriarchy.
* Post-feminism - a 1990s trend that suggested that females no longer had any
need for second-wave feminism because they now had girl power. Many critics
saw it as a media construction and as reflecting a male backlash against radical
feminism.
* Girl power - a media-invented term which claimed that females wielded
cultural power in the 1990s because they imitated role models such as
Madonna.
* Digital feminism - feminists, who mainly belong to the millennial generation,
who challenge sexism and misogyny using online digital sites such as Twitter
and Facebook and by setting up internet websites such as Everydaysexism.com.

● Summary of the Feminism Chapter from the Purple Book

1. Feminists aim to describe the extent of gender inequality that exists

across the world. Most aim to explain male domination and female
subordination with reference to the concept of patriarchy.
2. Liberal feminists have challenged gender inequality in a range of social
areas of modern life and put pressure on governments to introduce
measures that either empower females or outlaw gender discrimination.
They are optimistic that social change will eventually lead to the
disappearance of patriarchy, although they acknowledge that there is still
some distance to travel.
3. Radical feminism argues that patriarchy should be considered as a
complex social system which has embedded its ideology into the
foundation of every social institution and consequently determines how
structures are organized and the social actions of both men and women.
Radical feminists argue that men and women have little in common with
one another and that males use their power in all areas of society to
exploit, oppress and dominate women.
4. From a radical feminist perspective, love and romance are merely
patriarchal devices that men use to manipulate women.
5. Marxist feminists believe that social class inequality is the main source of
power, and that patriarchy is consequently a product of capitalism.
Marxist feminists argue that women's family labor contributes to the
profits made by the capitalist class, because women ensure that men are
fit and healthy to work and that children will grow up to be the future
workforce.
6. Intersectional feminists believe that gender needs to be considered as
exerting a similar influence as social class and ethnicity over the
experience of women. Some women have more means at their disposal
to resist patriarchy because they possess wealth, status and education,
while others may find that their experience of patriarchy is more
oppressive because they live in poverty or in a racially segregated society
or are subject to strict religious controls. Walby's triple systems theory is
a good example of intersectional feminism.